Anne Makes a Mistake
by Cloudsong
Summary: A fic I wrote for school-work. It takes place from the book 'Anne of Avonlea'; the second book in the series.


Sighing agitatedly, Anne sank heavily onto the sofa in the parlor of Green Gables. She had had a long day with her class; they had been restless all day long, and had played awful tricks on her, such as putting a toad in her desk. While she was closing the doors of the school room at the end of the day, one of her students had thrown a water balloon at her, and had ran off laughing before she got the chance to see who it was.

Anne leaned her head on the back of the sofa, massaging it warily, for she had developed a severe headache throughout the day. _What else could go wrong? _she thought severely.

As if answering her thought, Davy came trotting into the parlor, his face smeared with chocolate. He left a trail of what appeared to be mud in his trail.

Anne sat upright, her eyes wide. "Davy! What on earth happened to you?" she asked in a surprised tone.

Davy grinned his boyish grin, and waved his fat fists at Anne. "I was eating chocolate in the barn, but I slipped. You ain't mad, are you Anne?" He tipped his head to one side, staring up at her.

Anne groaned inwardly. "Oh Davy, how could you be so careless?" she asked in a despairing tone. She hurried over to him, and pulled a hanker-chief from her pocket, mopping up the brown stains from his face. "Why did you come into the house without taking your shoes off?"

"I forgot," Davy replied meekly. "And I was awful hungry, so I came straight in here." He rubbed his feet a bit onto the carpet, making the brown stain underfoot worse.

Anne took his hand firmly, and led him over to the kitchen, where she made him remove his shoes. "You shouldn't have come in here!" she scolded, going over to the sink and rinsing the chocolaty cloth out.

Davy shrugged, his eyes on a pie that was set temptingly on the table. "Can I have a piece?" he pleaded.

Anne shook her head firmly. "Of course not!" she said in a stern voice. "Marilla said you may only have bread and butter in between meals." She began wiping his face up again.

Davy hung his head. "I suppose Paul Irving wouldn't do something like this," he said quietly. Paul was one of her students, which Anne liked telling Davy about. He was a model pupil, who would never have made such a mistake.

"Indeed he wouldn't have," Anne said briskly, making him remove his muddy shoes. "Why must you be so reckless?" She sighed, looking down at the apron she was wearing, which was stained very badly from his muddy outfit.

"I didn't mean any harm, Anne. Honest!" Davy shook his head, and his eyes wandered back to the pie. "Oh please Anne, just a weeny piece...?" he pleaded again.

Anne shook her head. "No! If you're hungry, you know what you can eat." She went to the sink and washed her hands. When she had finished, she turned back to Davy. Just as she opened her mouth to tell him something, a sharp knock sounded on the door. "I'll be back in a second, Davy." She turned and hurried over to the door.

It was Diana, who had just come over to briefly return a book she had borrowed from Anne. They talked for a few moments, before Anne said that she had to go finish cleaning up the mess Davy had made.

When Anne returned to the kitchen, she found that Davy had gone, and so had the pie. Angrily she looked around.

A small trail of brown footprints led down towards the door, and into the barn. Briskly Anne marched over and wrenched the door open, to reveal Davy sitting next to the trough, sticking his hands in the mud. "Davy! Where on earth is that pie?" she demanded, pulling him up.

Davy looked bewildered. "I didn't take it Anne, honest!" Tears welled in his eyes, and he struggled to get free from her grasp.

Anne, being in the bad mood she was in, smartly rapped him over the head with the book she was carrying. "Tell me now, Davy. You know I told you not to tell false-hood."

Davy shook his head. "I didn't take it!" he sobbed. "I just came out here to play... And- and-" His voice was cut off by a large bout of sobs.

Anne's eyes softened slightly, but her bad mood was still there. "Davy tell me where you put that pie," she insisted. "Did you eat it?"

Davy shook his head meekly. "N-no!" he cried.

Anne released him from her grasp, and he fell to the ground, dirtying his clothes even more than they were before. "Davy, you listen to me," she said in a hard voice. "You don't leave this barn until you're ready to tell me what you did to that pie!" With that, she marched out of the barn, leaving Davy sobbing on the ground.

Anne felt awful after having hit Davy, but she knew that she had had to. It was the second time she would have caught him telling a lie, and she had told him the first time that he wasn't to do it anymore.

Quietly she changed into clean clothes, and sought out Marilla, who was sitting in the kitchen knitting.

"Oh Marilla, I feel awful!" Anne said in a dramatic voice. "I just smacked Davy, and told him that he wasn't to leave the barn until he told me where he put the pie on the table!" She collapsed into the chair next to her, and stared at her with big eyes.

Marilla looked briefly up from her knitting. "What pie?" she asked suddenly, putting her knitting down abruptly. "The one left on the table?"

Anne nodded ruefully.

Marilla's eyes widened. "Why I put that one away just a short while ago!" she said quietly.

Anne sat bolt upright. "Was Davy gone when you put it away?" she asked in a small voice. Her heart felt heavy with horror.

Marilla nodded. "Yes, he wasn't there when I went in."

Anne moaned. "Then I punished him for no reason!" She stood up, her head throbbing with pain from her headache. "Oh, I must apologize to him!"

Marilla watched as Anne flounced across the room, and opened the door to the barn.

She found Davy in the corner of the barn, sitting on a haystack, his hands full of dry mud. He was sniffling, but tears were not falling at the moment. Quietly Anne crossed the room towards him. "Davy..." he began.

Davy stood up quickly. "Honest Anne, I didn't take the pie!" Fresh tears pooled in his eyes, and he began sobbing. He ran up to her, and hugged her. "Please don't be cross with me, Anne!"

Anne hugged him back. "Oh Davy, _I'm_ the one that should be apologizing!" she said in a heavy voice. "I know now that you didn't take the pie, and I shouldn't have accused you!" She herself had tears in her eyes, and she patted the boy on the head.

Davy looked up at her with wide eyes. "Really? But what.. what happened to it?" he choked out.

Anne sighed. "Marilla put it away once you left, and when I got back from the door I didn't see it... I thought you took it, and I shouldn't have jumped to that conclusion." She knelt down so that she was at his level. "Do you forgive me, Davy?" she asked softly.

Davy nodded through his tears. "'Course I do, Anne!" He hugged her again. "I don't want you to ever be cross with me again, 'stand?"

Anne couldn't help but smile at his bad grammar, but she nodded. "I won't without a reason, Davy." She stood up. "Come on, I'll let you have some pie now." He held out her hand, and he took it, a big smile on his face.


End file.
